Vocal Majority rules SWT

Date of release: 11/07/02

Event: University Arts Program: Vocal Majority Time: 7:30 p.m. Date: Nov. 15 Place: Evans Auditorium Contacts and Tickets: Tickets: $10 general admission, $5 SWT students. Advance ticket sales begin: Oct. 1. More information: (512) 245-3501 or e-mail advance ticket requests to em16@swt.edu.Not many people can argue the fact that the relaxing harmony of a barbershop quartet brings 1950’s era nostalgia to mind. Now, imagine a barbershop-style singing group of not four, but 120 men from all walks of life together on one stage. A little overwhelming, isn’t it?

The Vocal Majority Chorus fills the stage at Evans Auditorium on Nov. 15. Officially titled the Dallas Metropolitan Chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, Inc., the Vocal Majority prefers to keep its name simple and its music timeless.

The group’s repertoire is as diverse as it membership, with music including barbershop favorites, classics, jazz, patriotic and sacred, rounded out with standards and Broadway Pops.

Vocal Majority’s members are all non-paid volunteers and hold an unprecedented nine gold medals from barbershop choral competitions. They are considered the most successful musical organization of their kind in the world.

In its 30-year history, the Vocal Majority has sung for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. They have performed with the Oak Ridge Boys, the Texas Boys Choir, Glen Campbell and Lee Greenwood.

A milestone accomplishment for the group came in September 2001. At a concert at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall the Vocal Majority raised more than $26,000 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Tickets to this performance are $10 and can be purchased by calling Liz McDonald at 245-3501 or e-mail em16@swt.edu.